16.4 Million New Car Sales in 2014 says Edmunds

SANTA MONICA, CA--Oct. 8, 2013: A continued release of pent-up
demand will lead the way to 16.4 million new car sales in 2014, forecasts
Edmunds.com, the premier resource for car shopping and automotive
information. Edmunds.com predicts that the auto industry is on pace to
reach its highest annual sales performance in 2014 since shoppers bought
16.5 million new cars in 2006.

"The average age of all light vehicles on the road climbed to 11.4 years
in 2013, and an aging fleet will continue to force buyers back to the
market next year," says Edmunds.com Chief Economist Dr. Lacey Plache. "With
used car prices still elevated over past norms and used car supply still
tight, the new car market will remain attractive to many of these
buyers."

Dr. Plache says that the auto sales environment in 2014 will closely
resemble the environment in 2013, for which Edmunds.com projects that new
car sales will come in at around 15.5 million. That automotive environment
includes a continued flood of lease returns to the market: Edmunds.com
estimates that 500,000 more leases will expire in 2013 than in 2012. And
Edmunds.com estimates that this number will grow by an additional 300,000
in 2014, accounting for about a third of all expected sales growth in
2014.

But the 2014 sales picture isn't entirely rosy for the auto industry.
Even if new car sales grow at the six percent rate that Edmunds.com
projects, it will be the slowest year-to-year growth since auto sales
bottomed out in 2009.

"The economy has not yet improved enough for recovery to widely reach
the groups hardest hit by the recession, including young people, lower
income households and small businesses," explains Dr. Plache. "Even though
auto sales from these groups have improved from recession lows, their
participation in the recovery still lags the rest of the market."